Heads turned instantly to see who had spoken, followed by nods of approval.However, Ethan lacked the fluster that everyone had thought they were going to see on his face, calm and composed with a smirk on his face.“He shouldn’t have said that!” One of the ladies in the room said, eyes glaring at Ethan, with a disdainful look. “Now he is going to suffer in the hands of Seth Dylan.” Another sniggered, eyes burning with mockery.Ethan heard it all- the mockery, the snorts, and even the sniggers, but he didn’t seem like he was moved, his eyes still staring at the challenger who was almost as young as he was.He cleared his throat, and with his smirk intact, he asked, “What’s your challenge?”Some of the board members in the room gasped, wondering why Ethan had been foolish enough to fall into Seth’s trap.When they saw the sinister smile on the face of the latter, they considered Ethan done for, their eyes burning in disdain."Are you sure you are ready for my challenge?” Seth asked, h

Marcus took a deep breath, and even though he was eager to speak, it didn’t seem as though the words were going to be very easy for him to say. He cleared his throat after a while, staring at Ethan who was still very curious to know why he was that worried. “Your father made it clear to us that we are here to make sure that you do not fail to impress the board members that you are worthy of being called the CEO of the company…” He paused for a while, but Ethan was still holding onto his curious stare. “If you do not succeed, then it means that we have also failed in our duties to make sure that you prove that you are worthy of being the CEO of the Company. Your father will send us all away if this happens…” His voice had suddenly become weak, and everything around him seemed to be enough proof that he was nervous. Ethan took a deep breath, and then he put on a smile which the other man found a bit difficult to understand. “Do you think that I am not going to succeed, Mr. Vale?” H

“What did you just say?” Laura finally broke her silence, her tone and body language warming up for defense.She glared at Ethan, her eyes flashing shots of annoyance and lingering disdain at him.“What did you just say?” She repeated, inching a step closer without taking her eyes off him.Ethan cleared his throat, and without getting rid of the smirk all over his face, he remarked,“I said… What if I say I am not leaving?” He kept his smirk, and then a snigger followed after a few seconds, causing the Mayor to grunt in annoyance.“You don’t really have to show me that you are as arrogant to men as everyone says you are, Laura…” Ethan took a deep breath, and instantly, he continued.“I am here for something very important, and I don’t think I am ready to leave until you hear me out...” After he had rendered the Mayor speechless, he adjusted to get a more comfortable posture on the seat and then he leaned backward and sighed heavily without letting go of his wry smile.Three seconds

Laura growled at him, yet she couldn’t get to decline his offer.She cleared her throat, turned to stare at the door for a short while before she slowly returned her gaze to Ethan, holding onto her smirk.“Are you sure you can be able to afford the kind of place I dine? I am not an ordinary lady, Mr. Cole. I am a lady with class, I am the Mayor of this City,”Ethan scoffed, holding onto his confident smile.“That I am aware of, Mayor Bart. And I came very prepared…” He paused for a few seconds, and after that, he continued speaking with a low but firm and audible tone.“I am sure you must have heard of the Fancy-Blue restaurant. But what I cannot tell is if you have been there before…”Laura chuckled softly, and then she nodded.“I can see that you did your research before you came. That’s the first…” She nodded again in satisfaction, staring at Ethan with a smirk all over her face.“I heard that’s a new restaurant, built by Maria Gaurel. She is one of the biggest female Entrepreneurs

CHAPTER NINETEENMarcus cleared his throat in an attempt to get rid of the Clog that gripped him.He took a deep breath, turning to briefly look at the rest of the people in the large room before returning his gaze to Seth.“We only got here, Seth. Why are you in so much of a hurry to make fun of the new CEO?”Seth growled, his eyes burning with disdain.“We have been here for over an hour already, Mr. Vale. All of us!” He looked around, as though he was inviting them to get into the same mood with him.And sure enough, they were as impatient as he was, furious and eager to make a decision.“If he is not going to show up, then we should be thinking of picking someone else to be the new CEO.” One of the ladies seated by the right said, gaining Seth’s instant approval.“I don’t think Ethan is going to succeed…” Another lady added, taking a deep breath.“The Mayor of Denver is definitely not going to grant him that approval. We should be talking about making Seth our new CEO and not wait